Traveling in South Texas

This one should have come before the last one.  I wrote it but didn't have enough internet to post it and add pictures.  

This is about the traveling in January (January 4th – February 4^th).  During the week days, we are on our computers all day (Ron is also on his for several more hours every night).  I have completed about 300 tax letters for sponsors’ donations in 2013 in addition to answering emails and helping with some reports on the orphans.   We never have any real “free” time.

We have been moving a lot since we headed south from Boles Children’s Home on January 4^th.  We were in the Houston area for a couple of weeks visiting churches and individual supporters in that area.  We went to churches:   Westbury (both English and Chinese services), Champions, Tom Ball, Memorial Road, Jersey Village and Stafford.   We parked in the back of the church at Stafford.  They were so gracious and helpful, leaving a back door open for us to use the facilities in the building.  Since our power amps were limited, one morning I took my coffee pot inside the building to the kitchen and plugged it in.  I was wandering around in the fellowship hall and saw a car out the window (looking through the blinds).  I thought the secretary or someone had pulled in to come in the front door.  I had not combed my hair so I quickly ran my fingers through my hair trying to make it look decent.  I thought it was taking too long for someone to come in so I peeked out the blinds more carefully and realized it was OUR car parked there.  Oh the joys of being senile!
 

It was great to visit in the home of David Fang and his wife in Houston.  David is now the minister for the Chinese congregation at Westbury C of C.  David used to work for us in China before he came to Bear Valley to attend their school of preaching.  David’s sweet wife prepared a very delicious Chinese dinner for us.  He has a precious little daughter and son and they are adjusting O.K. to life in Texas.   We also had a good meal with the Chinese congregation at Westbury the day Ron gave them a report on the work.  It was good to meet some of their members. 

We also got to see Mary and David George at Tomball.  We knew them in the congregation in Montreal, Quebec but had not seen them for 20 or more years.  It was great to have lunch with them and catch up on their lives and their daughters’ lives now.   We also enjoyed a great time with Carole Booker, our Westbury teacher that goes to China almost every summer to help with our work.  This past summer, she went to the hospital in Wadian and began setting up the pharmacy.  We had dinner one night before Wednesday night service with Woodie Williamson who has generously supported our work for many years.

I am reluctant to mention all of the people we meet along the way for fear I will leave someone out.  We love meeting friends and supporters so much.  Being on the road all the time, we soak up these friendships and enjoy a little social life with wonderful people such as these. 

We spent about three days parked in the driveway of the churches in Alvin and Angleton.  Both congregations received us with wonderful hospitality and we enjoyed getting to know more people at Alvin this year.  We had never been to Angleton before but it turned out to be a joyful visit.  We made good friends with the minister and his wife (he’s also one of the elders).  They had us for dinner one night.  I attended the ladies’ Bible class one morning and went out to lunch with the ladies and enjoyed it so much.

When  we left Angleton, we drove to Bay City and parked in the minister’s driveway.  Each year we go to Bay City, we really enjoy our time with Larry and Mary Ann Macomber.   They are so much fun to be with.  We enjoyed a good dinner at their house and again with them and another couple after the service on Sunday.  Mary Ann is an animal lover so it’s like being at a petting zoo.  They have three dogs, three cats and two ducks.   It was interesting to see all of the animals interact with each other.  We left their home that Sunday afternoon and drove to Port Lavaca.

 

It was our first visit to Port Lavaca.  There are always fewer people at the Sunday night service but the ones we met were so friendly and welcoming.   We stayed in their parking lot overnight.  
 

The next morning, we left to drive on to Port Aransas.  We arrived about noon but coming through Aransas Pass, the small town before we cross the ferry to the island, we were driving down a narrow street and a tree limb hit the RV on the passenger side.   It is difficult to judge the distance of tree limbs and the top of the RV.  Neither Ron nor I saw this limb.  He thinks it must have been a huge limb that had been cut and leaves had grown over it to make it less visible.  We said we were going to drive back by and see it again to understand why we did not see it.   It caused a big thud so I knew there was damage to the RV.  Almost immediately we saw the canopy dangling on the right side of the RV. 

Ron was in the right lane so he turned at the next stop and pulled over into a large paved area.  The limb had damaged the housing on the canopy and made it fall.  A drunk man (homeless man we found out later when he came back by the second time) stopped to help but Ron told him we really didn’t need his help.  He walked on off.   I tried to help Ron hold the canopy so he could pull it back up and tie it down but it was too heavy for me and I could not reach high enough.  I was too afraid to get up on a ladder and try it. 

 

Very soon a man stopped to help.  He said he lived on the island and was retired. He called his wife and told her he would be there helping us for a while.  He owned an RV like ours and knew what to do to help.  He went back home and got a saw to cut the bar that was bent so badly it would not let the arm go back up so the canopy could be pulled back up and tied down.  He got on a ladder to push it up while Ron got on top with a rope and tied it off.  

Of course, he would not let us pay him for his help.   He said he would appreciate anyone stopping to help him when he has trouble so he was more than happy to help us. 

We were able to drive on to the Tropical Island RV Park on Port Aransas.  The Geico adjuster came yesterday.  We will get it repaired at Iron Horse RV Repair Service in San Antonio when we get there.   Our deductible is $1,000 so that tree limb was expensive!  It will cost over $4,000 to get it repaired.  Ron will go up on top and secure it even more for the drive to San Antonio to be sure it stays until we  get there. 

Usually, this Tropical Island Park is full of campers but there are lots of empty spaces this year.  Yes, it’s been a cold winter all the way to the Gulf but I don’t know where else they could go for the winter.  The Rio Grande Valley is a little further south but these cold fronts have reached the entire distance to Mexico this year.   The weather has been raw this entire month.   It’s been very windy and cold.  Even when the sun is out (which isn’t but a day or two every week), the wind will cut you into.   Our RV is rocking today from the strong wind.  Sometimes at night we have to pull one of the sliders in to cut down the noise so we can sleep.  There’s a little canvas strip over the top of each slider and the wind whips it and makes a lot of noise.   People in the Corpus Christi area tell us it’s been the coldest winter they can ever remember.   No one is out walking or enjoying the island.  I heard the weather man say today that the entire nation is as cold as two ex-wives.

Our daughter, Leigh Ann, attended a Charity Fair at Jackson Healthcare on the day of the snow storm in Atlanta.  She got caught in the traffic going 9 miles back home.  After eight hours of sitting in traffic jams, she was still not close to home.  She phoned her neighbor and they told her of friends along the way that she could stay with.  She ended up staying with a family she did not know overnight and until noon the next day.  She was very grateful for good people (a doctor and his family) that took her in.  Many spent the entire night in their cars.  It was a horrible situation for many people in Atlanta that night.

After we complete our visits to churches in Rockport, Ingleside, Corpus Christi, Portland, Weber Road and Alice, we will go to San Antonio.   We will leave here on Sunday afternoon, February 16^th.   We will not drive on down into the Rio Grande Valley as we usually do because of more pressing appointments in middle Texas cities. 

We spent some time with Gerald and Phyllis Lee is Portland.  What a joy it is to be with them.  They treated us to dinner out twice and had us come to their house one cold Saturday afternoon.  Phyllis cooked a delicious salmon lunch for us and we made fudge later that afternoon.  They took us for a drive around their neighborhood.  Their house is on the waterfront.  Gerald built the house and it's very lovely with a view of the water.   I wish I had taken pictures but it was a very grey day.  They own Century 21 in Portland and are still oversee that thriving business. 

We enjoy seeing the many oil refineries along the way.  They stretch on for miles and miles.  At night, they light up like Christmas lights and are beautiful for a long distance.  This one is Citgo, owned by Venezuela.   As we drive, we see beautiful sunsets and interesting plants and landscapes that are unique to southern Texas.

 

 

We had a delightful Sunday with Jamie and Mickey (also David and Charlene) at Bent Tree in Rockport.  They prepared a wonderful lunch for us.  We also had dinner with Ann and Gary (minister and his wife at Ingleside) on Monday night.   After a couple of years’ visit, we are developing some wonderful friendships as we travel which brings a lot of joy to our personal lives.




When we return to the Lewisville area Ron will work out of there to visit some of the congregations not too far away.  We have many churches we still need to visit in TX.   Ron said yesterday:  “Texas is a big state!”   Well, duh!   Everything out here is bigger!   We have not been out to the Abilene area in years and there are so many churches we could contact in Midland, Odessa and other cities west of Dallas.  The potential for informing churches and getting others involved in the work in China is endless.  While Ron continues to add some churches in TX and Oklahoma, Mike Gifford who is our newly hired CEO, will be calling on churches in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida that have never been contacted. 

Many missionaries have left foreign works due to lack of support.  With the economy, churches are very careful to evaluate each mission work.  Some have lost their missionaries and are actually looking for other good works to support.  We don’t ask for support but Ron gives a report and many of the elders and members ask what we need and how they can help. 

The hospital in Wadian, China, is nearing completion to open its doors to the public.  When we visited the hospital in December, it was obvious from meeting the land developer, the official from the health department and other government officials that it would be virtually impossible for us (Americans) to get a license to operate the hospital.    We were told from the beginning that it would not be a problem but it turned out to be a huge problem.   After a lot of negotiation, Julia Ng, our new worker who lives in Hong Kong, has worked out a contract for Dr. Joshua and Tony, another Christian man (minister in Shanghai) to operate the hospital and get the license.   Tony’s wife, who just retired from a large firm in Shanghai, will be the administrator of the hospital.  Dr. Joshua will be the chief surgeon and physician.  They will hire whatever additional staff is required by the Department of Health.  The contract (approved by our attorney in Beijing) states that they will treat all the poor children in the area (and any from our orphanages that we can send there) free of charge.  They will also give free medical care to expectant mothers and deliver their babies.  They can do cleft palate/cleft lip surgeries at this hospital but will not have the expensive equipment for heart surgeries.  Heart patients will be referred to us for surgeries in the U.S. or other hospitals in China. 

The land developer was very pleased with this contractual agreement.  He and Dr. Joshua grew up together.  He gave the land for the hospital site so he had a big say in what we do there.  He is building a town from a village.  He hopes to have a 30,000 town in a few years.  Condos and high rise apartment buildings are going up everywhere.  He agreed to give us two of the condos to use for an orphanage.  We looked at one unit almost completed while we were there in December.  We will be able to put a door (or maybe one on each floor) between the units to house about 50 children with one set of house parents.  These units are three floors with three bedrooms on the top two floors.  The master bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath are on the first floor.  In the second unit, I can visualize the large master bedroom to be used for a lot of children in bulk beds.  We may have to add an additional bath to accommodate 50 children.   Mr. Zhu’s wife will stay there as the house parent until we are able to find a couple.   Mr. Zhu has already identified about 35 orphans that can move into the Wadian units as soon as they are ready for occupancy.  The churches in the Red Boiling Springs, TN area may be combining efforts to support all of these children.  Jerry Cherry, one of our sponsors is looking into that possibility.  

Mr. Zhu will relocate to be the director of Wesley’s House in Pingguo.  John Xue has resigned his job there and will be leaving soon.  Mr. Zhu will meet with government officials in Pingguo to see if we can use the rest of the old school building for orphans.  We have a portion of the building already and now that the new school is completed, a large portion of the building is empty.  There was a fight between the Department of Education and the local police because they want to use part of the building for a police station.  That would not be good on our campus with cars coming in and out all the time so we are hoping the Education Department will win the fight and give us the rest of the building.  We will remodel the rest of the building and add restrooms and enlarge our occupancy in this location to over 200 children.   We will consider this as the new location to replace the North Canton Christian Care Center that we closed last year. 

With Julia Ng taking over the oversight of the care centers and the hospital, our son, Ronald, has now moved to the Philippines.  He and Gigi have rented a small house for the time being.  They are visiting two other islands to meet missionaries that have land available for orphanages.  They will check into the requirements to obtain a license.  They hope to find a location to build an orphanage in the near future.   Ronald had a bout with pneumonia the last two weeks he was in China but he’s overcome the illness and is feeling well now.  We are so grateful for his recovery and for those that assisted him in China to get treatment for him. 

It is Chinese New Year in China so the children are visiting relatives for their winter vacation.  The spring semester will begin by the first of March and all will be returning for another session of study.  We are always thankful when the children come back safely to the care centers.  There are always a number of firework injuries each year in China during the Spring Festival. 

Please keep Ron and me in your prayers for safe travels and good health.  Also, remember our work, the children and workers.  Thanks to so many of you who encourage us and help us in so many ways.

 

 

Winter and March 2nd, coldest day of all

Our travels in January and February have taken us south to Houston, Bay City, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Portland, San Antonio, Hamilton, and we are now in Abilene, TX.   We plan each year's reports for sponsors so we can be in the warmer areas during the coldest winter months.  It did not help very much this year.   Weather was pleasant in Houston in December but in January it was quite cold in Port Aransas and Corpus Christi.  

Crossing the ferry to camp at Port Aransas Tropical Island RV park.  (first picture).
Campers stayed inside most of the time.  They would go walk their dogs and go back inside their trailers.  The wind was strong and the temperature too cold to enjoy the outside.  We did not get to go walking a single day we were there.  

We spent a week at Iron Horse in San Antonio having repairs done on the RV which is a yearly chore.  We visited individuals and churches in each of these cities and enjoyed our friendships that bring us to these areas only once a year.

We had a delightful weekend in Hamilton, TX and then arrived in Abilene a week ago.  We parked the RV at Abilene State Park for two days and nights but we could not access our internet from the park.  We drove about 20 miles to the nearest library to work.  We relocated to the back parking lot at Oldham Lane Church of Christ in Abilene and have been here a week on Wednesday.   We had a couple of warm days and then the north pole moved south.

Sunday morning we found the car covered in a thick layer of ice.  Drizzle had frozen on the mirrors to the point we could not even scape it off.  Deicer did not work because the temperature was so cold.  An 18 mph wind hit us all day with temperatures dropping throughout the day.  There was sleet on the grass and trees but the strong wind blew it off of the highways.  We drove about 40 minutes to Merkel, TX and had a wonderful morning and lunch at their museum's BBQ with one of their members.  The museum was celebrating Texas's Independence Day.   The MC said when he got up he thought it was going to be a disaster fund-raiser but it turned out so well they ran close on having enough food.  Sunday night we went to Oakland C of C and returned to the RV to dig in for a winter night. 

Ron worked hard to insulate the door and front area where it gets so cold with the large windshield.  We brought the slides in because the wind was so strong it was making noise like a freight train coming.  We did not have much room but we packed on the cover and went to bed.   We set the heat but it must have run all night even on low thermostat settings.  We slept warmly and woke up to 11 degrees and 18 mph winds.  We cooked little on Monday and worked in cramped quarters but we stayed warm. 

This morning it was 22 and now at noon it's in the 50's.   What a change a day can make.  Everyone says in TX, if you do not like the weather, just wait a day or two and it will change.   That is so true!  It can be 80 (last Saturday) and 25 (Sunday) the next day.   We have proof of it this past weekend.  We are still very blessed because most of our nation is still under a deep freeze with much snow and ice today.  We are coasting toward warm days the rest of this week. 

On Friday, we leave for Lewisville, TX (our home base).  We will go to Groesbeck Sunday morning and Garland Sunday night so it will be a long day for us.  We will be at Lake Park for almost a month (during the winter, they let campers stay 30 days).   We will attend Lewisville C of C a few times but we will travel to report to other congregations around the area by car whenever Ron can get appointments. 

Judy Yang, who worked with us for at least four years in Georgia, is coming to the U.S. from Shanghai.  She had 5 days free after her business trip so she's flying into Dallas to stay with us.  We are very excited to see her.  It's been at least three years (maybe 4) since she left to return to Shanghai.  Leigh Ann met her for dinner at a restaurant in Shanghai when she went to China in September, 2013.

We did not go all the way to the Rio Grande Valley this year.  We are going to have to schedule some churches to get a report every two years.  We just cannot make all of the rounds each year.  We know many of them will understand and maybe not even care, although some insist that we come every year.

Ron has five times scheduled to speak in Searcy, AR early in April.  We will be on our way to Oxford, MS where he will give a weekend leadership seminar to the Chinese congregation on Easter weekend.  

We have been well - not even a cold this past year.   In December, while in China, we did have a runny nose for several days due to the pollution (we think).  Last week, we have our two-year check up in Hamilton but expect our blood test to be O.K.

We were in shock to get the news from Ronald first (and then over our networks) about terrorists attacking people at the train station in Kunming and killing a lot of people and many other were injured.  I read that 10 people (including at least one woman) all dressed in black arrived at the ticket counter...one had a bag that he opened that contained all of the long-bladed knives.  Each of the 10 got a knife and began slashing people.  The police were able to kill four of the attackers and arrested one.  The other five got away.  I also see headlines on the internet that bombs were set off at an elementary school in Guilin and another one not far from a school in Guangzhou.   These are muslin terrorists that live at least 1000 miles toward Tibet.   They have been in this region for hundreds of years but usually are not violent.  In the past, they have only attacked government facilities but now it seems they are going after crowds of innocent people and maybe even school children.   It will affect tourism in China.  We have never felt any fear whatsoever in China.  No one has guns and no one every threatens us or appears suspicious.   They are warning tourist and residents to be aware of their surroundings and report anything that does not seem normal.   I guess China security will have to increase now to watch train and bus stations as well as airports and other facilities where a large number of people might be gathered.  

I look forward to posting more regularly in the months to come when we are not so pushed for time and I have more internet access.   Thanks to friends and family for following our travels and keeping us in prayers. 

Some pictures near Corpus Christi

Sunset heading out of Corpus Christi toward Alice, TX

Here's one of many oil refineries around TX. 
This one is right outside of Corpus Christi, TX

Ringing in the New Year

This year was different and I told Ron I doubted that I would forget what we did on New Year’s Eve. 

We left Texas on Friday, December 27th to drive all the way back to Red Bay, AL to Tiffin Industries to have seven windows replaced in the RV.  They are double-paned and the seal had lost the vacuum between the glass and moisture got between the panes.

Mr. Tiffin told us to come at this time when they had less work.  It took us two days to drive over.  The first night we stayed in a church parking lot in Greenville, MS without power.  We just went to bed when we got in and got up early to leave the next morning.  The next night we parked in our friends’ back yard (Jan and B.J. Kennedy in Florence, AL).  We got there about 2 p.m., got showers and took them out to eat at Red Lobster.  We went to church with them on Sunday morning, December 29^th.  Ron spoke at Center Star C of C in Center, Star, Alabama, that night.  After the night service, we drove an hour south of Florence to Red Bay, Alabama and parked in the service parking lot for Tiffin Industries.   We waited all day on Monday without service.   It was a very cold, rainy day.

 

Between Greenville, MS and Indianola, MS there were fields of snow geese.  These were rice fields so they had stopped there to eat the grain that had fallen off into the shallow water.  On our trip back home, many were in the air but the fields were still white with thousands of the beautiful birds eating the rice.  It was a beautiful site but, of course, I was not prepared and did not have my camera ready to take a picture. 

When we were in Red Bay in September to have the windshield replaced in the RV, there were literally hundreds of RV’s waiting for service.  We did not expect many at this time because of the holidays but there were still at least 100 there.  I looked at license plates and saw they were from Ontario, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and other northern states.  It was obvious that they had come south for the winter and stopped over for service/maintenance on their RV’s.   It is amazing how many RV’s we see traveling on the roads, no matter which direction we drive. 

Tuesday morning, Ron went over to see if they were going to get to us.  They decided to send us to an RV repair place nearby that gets the overflow work for Tiffin.  They got the windows from Tiffin and had us ready to go in about three hours.   This was New Year’s Eve.   We left Red Bay at 1:30 p.m. and drove straight through to Texarkana, TX, arriving at Hampton C of C at 11:00 p.m.   It had turned so cold that Ron decided we must plug in for some heat that night.  We had blankets across our laps while we drove and also wore our coats and gloves.  With just heat at the front of the RV, it got down in the 40’s in the back of the RV.  Once we got parked, we got in bed quickly to get warm and slept until daylight on New Year’s Day.  We drove on to Boles Children’s Home in Quinlan, TX (we had left our car there) about three hours’ away.   We went to Bible study that night at Johnson Street in Greenville, TX and stayed one more night parked at Boles Children’s Home. 

This morning we got up at 5:45 a.m. and prepared to leave by 8:00 a.m. in order to stop at a diesel place to get the oil changed on the RV.   It takes an hour to pack things away and secure everything for travel.  If we are leaving early the next morning, I do as much as I can the night before.  We were at the diesel shop until 11:00 a.m.   We arrived back at Lake Park in Lewisville, TX this afternoon about 1:30 p.m.   We will be here until Saturday morning and then leave for Houston, TX.

It is very cold in Texas now.  We hope to enjoy a couple of months of milder weather as we travel along the Gulf Coast to the southern cities of Texas. 

To back up a little, after we finally got over jetlag from our trip to China, we drove to Boles Children’s Home in Quinlan, TX on December 23^rd.   We enjoyed a wonderful dinner party on Christmas Eve at the apartment of Henry Sherwood.  He had 19 for dinner that night (including several from church and some of his children and grandchildren).  I know Henry was tired afterwards because it was a lot of preparation for such a wonderful meal and party.   On Christmas Day, we went into Greenville and had lunch with Wayne Childers, one of our sponsors.  We spent several hours at his apartment that afternoon.  It was a quiet and peaceful day of rest for us.   We knew the trip to Alabama was arriving one day later so we needed the day without stress.

This was one Christmas we didn’t gain weight.  We had too few meals to add on the pounds.  We had too many on-the-road snacks that didn’t add up to a lot. 

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful New Year!

China, November 30 - December 14, 2013

We left our RV at the Smith’s farm in Sanger, TX.  We got up at 2:30 and left at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday morning to arrive at Sam Holt’s apartment building at 4:15.   Sam runs a limo service and told us he would gladly take us to the airport and we could leave our car inside the fenced-in area at his apartment building.  He drove us in a luxurious car but it was not a limo.  We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to take the first flight to Chicago at 5:45 a.m. but since it was the Thanksgiving weekend, we got the last two seats.  One seat was in coach and one in first class.  I made Ron take the one in first class for two reasons:  they served breakfast which he enjoys more than me and he could take two bags on.  They made him check his suitcase carry-on at the plane door saying there was no more space for bags on this flight.  He was able to take his computer bag and one small bag with equipment for the hospital.  My seat in coach was in the center with an Indian girl on my left and a black lady on my right.  The black lady was holding a year-old baby girl.  The lady had on Muslim clothing.  I gave her a little of my space to care for the baby and she was grateful.  We got to know each other a little.  She is 60 years old and raising the grandchild because her daughter is bi-polar and unable to care for the child.  Welfare was going to put the baby in foster care so she is going to raise the child herself.  Her son, who is married to a Hispanic girl, had just returned home to California from duty in Afghanistan.  She had been to visit him and his family and was returning to her home in Detroit.   She said her son will now be transferred to Italy and since his wife can go with him now, they offered to care for the baby but she didn’t think that was fair to them since they have three children.  She had a few questions about me and where we were going and why.  I gave up my apple juice to put in the baby’s bottle and she was very grateful.  She thanked me for my kindness.  I wanted to make a good impression for two reasons:  I wanted her to know I am not prejudiced against her because of her race or religion.  I don’t have to accept anyone else’s beliefs but I can respect the fact that everyone should have the freedom to choose.  None of us had a choice about the race we were born into so we need to love everyone—God made us all.

We arrived in Chicago about 8:30 a.m.   Ron went to log us into the computer for the flight to China so we can get on the standby list early.   We went and ate breakfast (Ron said his on the plane was not very much after all).  We wandered around the airport some, rested in seats at vacant gates, ate lunch and then moved on down to our gate for departure about 6:30 p.m. for Beijing.  We arrived in Beijing Sunday morning at 8:47 p .m. (China time). 

We were #2 and #3 on standby and we were given Priority Boarding.  This is probably not a coincidence.  We got our buddy passes from our dear friend, Sam McLean, Capt. of American Airlines.  Sam has been supporting our work for a couple of years now and helping us in various ways.   Our seats were not Business Class which we usually flew on Delta but First Class seats, the seating right behind the pilots’ cabin.  There were some vacate seats used throughout the flight by the pilots and co-pilots during their rest breaks.  The seats were great and went completely flat for sleeping.  I actually got seven hours of sleep on that flight.  The most I’ve slept in the past was 3 or 4 hours.   This is a 13-hour flight, traveling 6,570 miles or 10,574 km.

My chair would not work automatically.   Normally, I am not mechanically-minded and I have trouble figuring out how to do a lot of things that Ron thinks should come naturally to anyone.  He was sitting next to me with a sort of barrier between us so he could not reach over and help.  He was laughing at me and saying I just needed to push the right button.  I was doing that but nothing was working.  He said it operates slowly.  I told him it was operating so slowly it wasn’t working at all.  Finally, a flight attendant came by (a tall nice-looking man in his 40’s).  He stopped to help and sure enough, nothing was working.  He took the arm off, checked it out, put it back and it still would not work.  He got down under the side of the chair and worked on it a while and tried it again.  It still would not budge so he manually moved the back of the seat and the foot rest and got it in the right position for me to have dinner.  Later, he came to help get it to lie flat for me to sleep but the seat would not go back.  He moved me to a seat up front, made my bed for me and just as I got comfortable, he came and said he got it working.  I moved back to sleep but when I got up about 5:30 a.m. he had to manually put the seat in position again.  He apologized over and over but I told him I didn’t mind since he was so gracious to do it all for me. 

This is the first flight I have ever taken where we were offered pajamas.  I didn’t take them because I felt funny about this in a cabin with other passengers.  Ron said he’s taking them next time but I don’t think I will.   A man and lady across from me changed and probably were more comfortable. 

Our food was fantastic.  We had smoked chicken crostini as an appetizer, followed by prosciutto and mozzarella with honeydew melon, then caramelized onion and leek soup, with a green salad with peppercorn cream dressing.  This is all before the entrée.  I was already full by the time I ate these delicious treats. 

I chose brie and leek ravioli with shrimp in a ginger coconut sauce (they put the tomato sauce instead but I didn’t send it back).  It was still delicious.  Other options for the entrée included curried salmon, stir-fried beef with asparagus, pork tenderloin with asparagus and rice, halibut with sweet potatoes, green beans and corn salsa.

There were rolls and butter and a variety of drinks.  I didn’t have dessert but Ron had a huge ice cream treat.

The midnight snack sounded great but I was not awake for it.  The menu had dim sum (pork and mushroom or shrimp dumplings with noodles; pizza with roasted vegetables and fruit.  Upon arrival (about one hour before touchdown) I had a delicious macadamia nut cream soup, green salad and roll, with a chocolate chip cookie. 

We arrived on time, went through customs, got our bags and entered the main airport to search for the time of arrival for Mike Gifford coming from Seattle.  His flight was arriving in 30 minutes in another terminal so we had to quickly go catch a bus to that terminal.  We had not been there 5 minutes until Mike walked out.  We took the airport bus toward our hotel.  We were told the closest stop would be the 4^th stop but when we got off we quickly realized it was one stop too far.  None of the taxi drivers knew where our hotel was located on the 3^rd ring around the city.  Finally, after waiting about 30 minutes one taxi driver knew the location and took us there.  It was about 2:30 before we got to bed and we had to be up by 7:00 a.m. to get some breakfast before meeting the attorney at 9:00.  His office was on a top floor in the same building.  Our worker, Hope, had arranged for us to stay at this hotel because of the convenience to his office. 

We met with the attorney for about two hours to go over the establishment of a central legal registered office for Agape in China and to review what would be needed to get a license for the new charity hospital we had built in Wadian, Henan, China.  He indicated that the process was going to be very difficult.  He made many suggestions and was very helpful in educating us about the process.  He is very young but very smart.   He is a member of the Lions’ Club and since he is very charity-minded, he will handle our legal work free-of-charge.  He even said he might be able to get the Lions’ Club to pay for the surgery we need done for the boy who needs eye surgery before he can have his second surgery at Medical City in Dallas to reconstruct his face from being born with a severe cleft lip and palate. 

We went to a nearby restaurant for lunch and then took two taxis to the South Train Station.   We had too much luggage and people to fit into one taxi.   One of them fussed the whole trip about having too much luggage although he certainly didn’t have much with us dividing people and bags up between two taxis.  It was a 30-minute race with the way they drive and then they let us out a long way from the train station when they could have driven right to the front door.  They are very rude and try to take advantage of people every way they can.  Of nearly everything in China, I detest taking a taxi about the most.

Our train was the first for Julia Ng, our new Operations Manger from Hong Kong, and Mike Gifford, our new CEO in training to someday take over the operation of Agape.  We had an overnight train in a soft sleeper car all together.  Bags were still a problem because, besides our personal luggage which we all kept to a minimum, there were two bags with hospital equipment to be left at our next stop in Wadian.

We arrived early that morning in NanYang and were escorted to a five-star hotel.   Our check-in was completed (without our passports, which is bypassing the system in China) and we were shown our rooms.   After a short break we went downstairs to meet with those associated with the hospital in Wadian.   Dr. Joshua was there.  He originally worked with Ron to build the hospital.  Tony, a minister from a church in Shanghai (also working with a church in Hong Kong) was there.   Ron had asked him to be on the advisory board for the hospital.  Mr. Liu, the developer was instrumental in giving us the rooms in the 5-star hotel so he was present. The meeting in the lobby of the hotel lasted a couple of hours and then he took us to meet several people and to have lunch. 

We drove in two cars for 45 minutes to Wadian.  We spent the next two days there in various meetings about the operation of the hospital.   That has not yet been resolved. 

From Wadian, we traveled to Pingxiang to visit the Refuge of Grace Care Center in Luxi.  Julia, Ron and Mike met with the director first and then with each employee to go over the new management changes and asked questions about their jobs.  A tour of the building was also conducted.  

Ron, Mike and Julia traveled on to Guilin and went to Neil Taylor Care Center in Rongshui, Jackson Family Foundation Care Center in Zigong and to Wesley’s House in Pingguo.  They conducted the same tour and meetings with each director and employee.

During this time, I stayed behind at RGCC with Ronald and Gigi for one more day and then we took a night train (with James, Ronald’s translator) to Guilin.  Ronald and James had completed their work at RGCC so we were meeting up with Mike, Ron and Julia a few days later at John Connor Brown in Tiendeng.   The day we arrived in Guilin, we checked into our hotel, had lunch and went to Elephant Hill Park (within walking distance).  It was a beautiful park with ethnic dancers and beautiful trees and plants.  ‘We climbed the mountain and had a wonderful view from the top.   After dinner that night, we had an hour’s walk around another park that was bright with pretty lights and two pagodas in the center of the lake.  

The next morning, we ate breakfast and caught a local bus to the end of the line to tour a cave.   It was an hour’s tour through an amazing cave with unusual formations, beautiful lighting and a power point on the side of the cave at the largest part of the cave.  It was truly a great experience.

We returned about half-way to the hotel and stopped off at McFound’s Restaurant for lunch.  It was really unique and the food was delicious.   Everything we ate in Guilin at different restaurants was good.  

That afternoon we left at 3 p.m. for Nanning.  It was supposed to be a 5-hour trip but ended up being a 12 hour trip because they are working at the Nanning train station.   We had “hard sleepers” where there are six beds to an area without a door so people are walking up and down the halls all the time.  Since it was a day trip, we thought it would be fine but as it stretched into a 12 hour trip, we ended up sleeping some of the time.  We got to bed at our Nanning hotel at 3:00 a.m. and had to get up early to catch a bus to Tiendeng to meet up with Ron, Mike and Julia at that care center. 

We had the rest of that day and the next day until in the afternoon at this center and then Ron, Julia, Mike and I left our sweet kids behind to go back to Nanning by bus.  We got in at 8 p.m. and had a horrible hotel.  We walked to McDonald’s to get something to eat and then to bed because we had to catch a 5:30 a.m. bus to the airport.   We got Julia off on her early flight to Hong Kong and the rest of us caught a 7 a.m. flight to Shanghai.   Mike decided he would stay in the airport and begin standing by for his Delta flight to Detroit to commute on to Atlanta.   Ron went to check with American Airlines and was told that every flight was sold out through Wednesday.  They suggested we begin standing my for each flight in the event two seats came available.  We stayed the entire day in the airport.  Mike got on the flight at 5 p.m. but got a coach seat (he also had lst class on the way to China).  We got the last two seats on the AA flight at 7 p.m.  We had tight coach seats and it was rough for 14 hours to Chicago.   We went through customs, got our bags, and after several security checks, put our bags back on at AA for the flight to Dallas.  We got to the gate just as they were boarding and did get the last two seats on this flight.  We were not seated together but for the last three hours it really didn’t matter.  We just wanted to get back to Dallas.    We could have stayed overnight in Chicago but we would have had to stand by for every flight the next day and it might have been even harder to get seats.   As they say, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”   We were exhausted but glad we could make the connections and get home.  

From the time we left the hotel in Nanning until we got to our RV in Sanger, TX, it must have been well over 30 hours.   We could only sleep for a few minutes with a seat crammed in so tightly with other passengers.   What made it worse was that a Chinese girl about three years old a few seats away from us cried or screamed for at least 10 of the 14 hours we were flying.   After I had gone up the ramp from the plane, I heard a man behind me say “I can still hear that little girl screaming.”   

It was a successful trip.  None of us got sick and we returned home safely.   It was a great experience for Mike and Julia to see all of the care centers and meet our workers.  It was a great bonding time for them to see if they can work together.  It was made clear by Ron what responsibilities each would have.  It was clear that Julia can run the operations in China and has the resources and ability to do so.  It was clear that Mike needs her in order to leave this portion of the work to someone else without having to be involved to any large extent.   Mike is greatly needed in the U.S. to learn the accounting and operations from this side and get fully involved in the fund-raising.

Julia plans to spend the first year just overseeing the care centers and gradually begin taking over the record-keeping from Ronald.   Ronald will complete one or two more projects and return to the Philippines by the middle of January.  He will continue to work with Julia for several months from the Philippines while awaiting a decision for a possible orphanage there.  

When the Agape office is registered by our attorney in Beijing, Julia will be able to begin raising funds in China.   With her CFO background, there’s no doubt she can bring in a lot of money.  Many Chinese corporations give to charities but they want to be sure they are registered charities before doing so.  Each of our care centers are registered with local governments in each area but Agape is not centrally registered.   The young attorney knows a way to get us temporary registration so Julia should be able to begin this work in about a year.

We had a wonderful time with Ronald and Gigi.  They have worked tirelessly in China under the most difficult of circumstances.  We would have had to make 4 or 5 trips to China each year if he had not done this work for the past five years.  I would compare his job to a prison sentence since the conditions have been about as bad.  He had been trustworthy and done an excellent job.  He deserves to have a place to settle down.  We know there’s a great need for an orphanage in the Philippines and they will run it well.  It is my prayer that they will be able to settle down there soon.  

Back in Texas - On to China

We arrived back in Lewisville, TX on November 12^th.   We left May 15^th and visited churches in eight states (OK, AR, MO, KY, TN, AL, GA and FL) over the six-month period of time.  We traveled 3,650 miles in the RV and an additional 7,500 miles in the car.   We park the RV and then take the car to the various congregations in the area to give reports and two weeks later, we move on to the next central location.  Miles and miles of countryside...pecan orchards and cotton crops across the south.

 

 

We had a wonderful visit in every congregation.  Loving and friendly people greeted us in churches of all sizes.  It is a great blessing to meet brothers and sisters across this great land.  We are so grateful for tender hearts and generous givers that help with the work in China. 

We spent two weeks in Leigh Ann’s driveway in Woodstock, GA.  

We were all busy the entire time but it was great to be with her and spend one day with Tatum, our 21-year-old granddaughter.  We see them only once a year unless Leigh Ann comes to some location to visit with us.  We cooked Tatum’s favorite Chinese food that day. 

While in North Georgia, Ron interviewed and hired Mike Gifford, who will be Chinese Agape’s CEO.  He is featured in our November newsletter if you want to read more about him.  Mike made a quick trip to Lewisville to meet and get approval of the Lewisville elders.  Then, he began spending time with Ron to learn all he can about the work the remainder of time we were at Leigh Ann’s.  Mike is presently living in Cartersville, Georgia.   

We parked two weeks at Raintree Village Children’s Home in Valdosta, GA.   It was a delight to be in this beautiful part of our country where large trees are covered with Spanish moss.
 

Raintree Village Children's Home
Valdosta, GA

We completed the round of visits in South Georgia and Northern Florida and began the trek back toward Texas, spending a couple of days in Baton Rouge, LA.   Joan, our Chinese worker, lives there.  She coordinates all of the patients having surgeries both in China and the U.S.  

 

It was great to be with our church family in Lewisville on Sunday.   What a joy it is to be part of a loving family of God.  We have had several invitations out and have been invited to a member’s home for Thanksgiving.  It was only one of several invitations we had for Thanksgiving Day.  We are indeed blessed with people who love us and want to be with us.  We enjoyed a cookout at the home of one member on Saturday night and it was good to be with about 20 Lewisville members.

We are busy catching up our work and figuring out what we need to pack for China.  We leave on November 30^th and plan to return on December 14^th.  Mike Gifford is going with us and tour all of the orphanages to have a full understanding of the work.  We will go to Beijing first and meet Julia Ng, who will be working with us from Hong Kong.  I’ll report more about her when she is officially on-board.  A meeting is scheduled in Beijing with an attorney to get the licensing completed for the new hospital in Wadian.  It cannot open for medical appointments until this is done.  In the meantime, Mr. Zhu is visiting the homes to make a determination about poor children that should be included in our data base for future medical benefits.  We will visit the hospital and then the five orphanages in various locations throughout China.

Travel in China is not easy.  We will take some flights because trains are not available to all areas.  We will take some trains and buses.  Even after arriving at a city by train, our destination may still be several hours’ ride on a bus.  The distance from each location is a long way, so we will not stay in any place longer than a couple of days.

I am looking forward to seeing Ronald and Gigi (he is now at Refuge of Grace care center doing maintenance on the building).  Gigi has just gotten her VISA to return to China on November 30^th so we will get to see her on this trip.  If Ronald has finished his work at this location, he and Gigi may travel with us to another of the care centers.  We are not sure about his work and plans yet. 

Being with Ronald and Gigi will be my greatest Christmas gift.  Gigi told me that hugs from us is all she needs.  We think a lot alike so we love each other very much.  Both Gigi and I love Ronald so that gives us a great tie together also. 

I spent a couple of days and nights thinking of her and her family in the Philippines and praying for them.  It was such a relief when Ronald told us that he had heard from her and they were safe.  Her island was not one of the worst hit but I’m sure they got lots of wind and rain.  It swept right across the Philippines.  When you live on an island and it’s going to hit all of them, there’s nowhere to go.  When we are traveling along the coast, we see signs that say Evacuation Route.  There are no evacuation routes when you live on an island.  There are no good shelters.  Buildings and houses are not constructed well to withstand typhoons of this strength.  You can make some preparation for a bad storm but there’s very little you can do but batten down and ride it out with lots of prayers. 

Ronald has submitted a proposal to build and operate an orphanage in the Philippines.  One million children are estimated to be homeless following the disaster of the recent Typhoon.  Ron is securing interested investors to fund the project.  We feel that this would be an ideal situation for several reasons.   Julia Ng will be able to oversee the orphanages in China in 2014.  Ronald will be needed on a limited basis, perhaps doing some maintenance work on the buildings at the care centers in China.  Gigi cannot get a permanent VISA so it is expensive for her trips in and out of China for them to spend some time together.  They live in hotels out of suitcases and that can get very old after some time. 

Gigi is a retired teacher so she can oversee the education of the children in the Philippine orphanage.  Ronald has five years of experience overseeing the orphanages in China.  No doubt, he can run it well and have a great home for little children.  We have a Bible teacher that can work with them to teach the children.  It’s no problem to teach the Bible in the Philippines.  With this combination of personnel to begin a care center, we feel that we are well staffed for it to be a success.  There are many little children in the Philippines, just as in China, that need a loving home and family.  We pray that this will come together soon after the New Year begins so they can get started on the construction phase.

I will report again upon our return from China.  Thank you for your love and friendship.  We covet your prayers for our travels and for the work in China.

How wonderfully we are blessed even with the many problems our country has at this time.   Continue to count your blessings not your problems.

We wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.